


Don't Ever Let Them Fool You

by doodlemeimpressed



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Anxiety, Borderline Personality Disorder, Canon-Typical Violence, Connor & Upgraded Connor | RK900 are Siblings, Crime Scenes, Crying, Depression, Drinking, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Gavin Reed Backstory, Gavin Reed Being an Asshole, Gavin Reed Needs a Hug, Gavin Reed Redemption, Gavin Reed is Bad at Feelings, Gavin Reed-centric, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mental Health Issues, Morbid, Other, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Panic Attacks, Post-Peaceful Android Revolution (Detroit: Become Human), Swearing, Tags May Change, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms, Upgraded Connor | RK900 Has a Different Name, Upgraded Connor | RK900 Is Bad at Feelings, Upgraded Connor | RK900 Needs a Hug, had it not been for the laws of these lands i would have slaughtered gavin with my own hands, happy mental health month (may), hes really trying though, ive been cursed to love and hate gavin, maybe shes born with it...or maybe...just maybe...its mental illness innit, so have a book length fic (hopefully)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-30
Updated: 2020-05-30
Packaged: 2021-03-01 17:55:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,377
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23851171
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/doodlemeimpressed/pseuds/doodlemeimpressed
Summary: Forced to work with the one thing Gavin hates most in this world, the Detective and RK900 work to find and bring down an elusive serial killer of both Humans and Androids. Both are forced to confront beliefs, memories, and choices they'd rather not and must find a way to overcome them, learning more about themselves and each other in the process. Memories can a very painful thing, sometimes best kept in the past.<>"MemoriesFeel the pain when it hits youMemoriesDon't you ever let them fool you"- Thutmose
Relationships: Connor & Upgraded Connor | RK900, Hank Anderson & Connor, Upgraded Connor | RK900 & Gavin Reed, Upgraded Connor | RK900/Gavin Reed
Comments: 11
Kudos: 31





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A seemingly normal day is turned into a very shitty evening for Gavin Reed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ya'll already know what tf is going on

You do not understand the first words you hear. Nor do you remember them. That is okay as the words were most likely noises, clapping, cheering, crying. After being congratulated by the nurse, your parents must’ve said something like, ‘oh I’m so happy’ or perhaps ‘what should we name them?’. These are not crucial things to remember.

Androids are not born, of course, they are created. They are nuts and bolts and all things mechanical put together to resemble a human. RK900 does not recall being made, he knows he was, obviously, but he was not conscious for it, however. 

The first moment of his life that he recollected was ‘waking up’, you could say, in a stark white room. His eyes, finally adjusting to the light immediately took in the space around him.

Three grey walls and a single half wall of glass, he squinted, but no matter how hard he tried, no matter how technologically advanced his vision, he could not see through it. 

A prodding at his back pushed him forward but as he stumbled he was grabbed by the mechanical arm he now noticed behind him. He looked at his hands and they were completely white, only detailed with lines running across them to connect each intricacy.

RK900 remembers the first words he heard.

They were not cheers, they were not claps and no one was crying or congratulating whoever made him. Only moments after he got his bearings, he was barraged with commands and questions. A voice demanding him to speak and sing in every language under the sun. Asking him where he was, who he was. 

He was poked and prodded and criticized. 

He didn’t know who he was, _what_ he was. How could he? He just woke up. He tried to pull his arm from the mechanical being behind him, feeling no pain as it clenched down on his wrist. He called out, asking what was happening, who was behind the glass. There was no acknowledgment.

“Why is it acting this way?” a man had said in the back of the crowd. ‘This way’ had been RK900’s continuous attempts to pull himself away the mechanical arm holding him in place. 

Why was the first emotion he felt been fear or the urge to scream without even knowing what that was? Why was he not treated like a person when he was born? Cheered and applauded. Instead of them crying, he was the one in tears as they picked apart his body, attempting to see if his flaw was skin deep.

“Reset it.”

The first words spoken to him were quickly erased just as quickly as he was.

* * *

The first time Gavin ever encountered an android was when he was 22 and he tried not to think about it since. _In fact_ , he spent most of his days at work _not_ thinking about how androids or how they ruined his life and _definitely_ not thinking of multiple ways to disassemble Connor. 

He had the recurring morbid thought of whether or not androids had rights pertaining to murder yet and if he would just be fined for property damage if he lit the RK800 on fire. He had these thoughts even though he knew the answer to that and that he would, very much, be thrown into jail because he didn’t have a lick of sense about how to hide a body. 

The closest he got to hiding a body was that one time in junior high where he beat Billy Cooper’s ass so badly that he’d actually managed to knock the kid out, but then had to drag the beefcake that Billy was, behind the bleachers. Actually, you know what? Now that he thought about it, they didn’t find him and Gavin didn’t get in trouble until the meathead woke up and told the principal what happened. Maybe he could disassemble Connor. God knows that if he at least failed the piece of plastic and all others would give him a wide birth.

The detective turned to the android, watching him chat with Anderson. The lieutenant would probably personally be the one to throw him into jail, the more he thought about it. However, he was not even a minute into staring at Connor before he was disturbed and was harshly shaken from his ‘fantasy’ by a voice. 

“REED! My office!”

Gavin had to hand it to him, Fowler had a way with words, he could be yelled at by the man for years and never complain (out loud) because deep down he knew that all of this tough love was because Fowler wanted to see him succeed an—

“NOW!”

The detective subsequently groaned, mentally taking back everything he said and dragging his numbed legs off his desk, trudging as dramatically as he could to the Captain’s office, he had no idea what he did now to deserve a berating but he opened the glass door anyway. Speaking of glass doors, Gavin wondered, as he took a seat in front of the other man, what the fuck was up with that. Why was his entire office glass? Was it a kinky thing? God, he hoped not.

“Yes, _sir?_ ” Gavin spoke, in a sarcastic tone as he could without also disrespecting the man who held his paycheck hostage, “what did I do now?”

“For once?” Fowler spoke, leaning down to grab something, “nothing.”

Gavin hummed before wiping a fake sweat off his forehead and began to spin on his heel towards the door, “Well if that’s all, I really must be going, you of all people know how just absolutely...” he paused waving his hands in the air as if trying to find the word by grabbing it, “ _busy…_ I am.”

“Sit your ass down.”

The detective paused, squinting at Fowler before slumping down in a chair, “Okay, what’s this all about?”

Fowler dropped a case file on his desk, it wasn’t comically filled, but it was definitely a _case._ Like a _case,_ case. Like a ‘possibly dead person’ case.

“Really hope that’s not my file,” Gavin said attempting to fill the silence.

Fowler shook his head, “No, yours is much bigger.”

“Now, now,” Gavin waved his hand, “let’s not compare sizes, sir.”

Beat. 

A cold glare right through him made him pause, clear his throat, and finally shut up for once.

“This casework just came in,” Fowler said finally, sliding the case across to Gavin, the detective stretching out and taking it. He skimmed it as Fowler explained it.

“There’s been a string of murders in Melvindale and seemly heading into River Rouge, the murder victims don’t seem to have anything in common as they have all been different races, genders and sometimes, they have even been androids. The only thing tying all these murders together has been the way they’ve been left at the scene and the same sentence written wherever it's able in the victim’s blood.” Fowler paused, pointing to the photo Gavin was holding.

“ _‘We Will Not Kneel?’_ ” Gavin read aloud, “Pretty on the nose don’t you think?” the Detective mumbled, sifting through the other photos, “How did you say they were killed again?”

“I didn’t.” 

Fowler pointed to another photo as Gavin uncovered it. Maybe it was some sick hazing ritual, as Gavin didn’t usually work murders, but he considered for once in his life taking the suggested counselor for officers or going on medical leave. After all, these photos probably met the requirement of ‘a problem severe enough to require psychiatric care’.

The photos in his hands showed corpses, completely missing their heads. In some photos, the cut looked clean, artificially clean, like a surgical cut. In others, it looked like there was a struggle, the lines around the skin uneven and jagged. Either red or blue blood caking onto the sides of the flesh. The human photos were the ones really sending Gavin into ‘might actually throw up’ territory, as much as he was trying not to. Their cervical vertebrae sliced in half or hacked through roughly. They all were definitely done by the same someone.

“Do you have a trashcan?” Gavin rasped, placing the photos back into the folder and closing it tightly. 

Fowler picked up his trashcan hesitantly and passed it to the detective from the side of the desk, “You gonna vomit?”

Gavin shook his head, but didn’t put the trashcan down, “maybe just a little.” 

However, as the moments passed in awkward silence Gavin managed to keep all his food in his stomach in the end. He cleared his throat and prepared to get fired, “Okay first, with all due respect, fuck you, sir,” Gavin huffed, “and secondly, why do you want me on this case? I thought Anderson and his plastic pup were the android’s crime unit?”

Fowler chuckled, “Oh don’t worry, your group is working alongside them.”

“Group?” Gavin raised an eyebrow, adjusting in his seat, “last time I checked, I didn’t have a _‘group’_ , let alone a partner. It works out for both of us that way, half of this station hates me and the other is too stupid to work with me. You’ve stuck on me property crime for the past week and now you’re going to throw me into, not only android crime, but serial killings?”

“I know it seems unconventional,” Gavin scoffed as Fowler began, “but let me level with you.”

“Please, don’t stoop on my account,” The detective offered.

“We were transferred a new android unit yesterday,” Fowler broached, “most if not all androids were deviant by the revolution's end—hold on, I don’t care if you believe it or not,” Gavin closed his mouth sharply, “the public believes it, so now so do we. They’re slowly getting the rights they fought for but this new unit, the RK900, was activated after the revolution when CyberLife was so thoroughly fucked by the public that they had to release any androids they had in holding to remain even slightly in power.” The other man explained, “RK900 may be deviant, but he doesn’t seem to want anything, the only thing he asked to do when he was released, was to be assigned to a police station so he could at least do what he was designed to do. He was built to replace Connor so I thought it would be smart to bring him here and let him learn from his predecessor.”

Gavin waited, taking in everything Fowler had said to and trying to understand why he was telling him this in the first place, “so what do you want me to do? Give him the tour?”

Beat.

“He’s going to be your partner.”

There was a pause. A pause because Gavin was waiting for the other shoe to drop, when it didn’t he began to sputter.

“ _Wh- wha- what the hell?!_ “ Gavin exclaimed, “no fucking way, Fowler. _No fucking way_.” Gavin insisted, standing up abruptly “Why can’t I pair up with Tina or Chris or fuckin’—BEN?”

Fowler raised his eyebrows, “I thought you said half this station is too stupid to work with you?”

“Then I’ll deal with the fuckers who hate me!” Gavin half shouted half sighed. “I’ll partner with anyone who’s not plastic and I’ll do a great job, you know I will. I’m not babysitting a glorified Roomba.”

“It’s not a suggestion, Reed.” Fowler said sternly, his humor falling away, “one way or another, you’re going to learn to treat androids like people. I’m just trying to make you learn that before the lesson puts you in an early grave.”

Gavin laughed, turning away from the other man for a moment, scratching his facial hair and turning back as Fowler concluded, “Oh? A grave? So I should be thankful? Oh, well thank _fuck!_ I really appreciate it.” The detective said with a forced smile, “Can I go now?”

“You’re working with RK900.” Not a statement, a command. Gavin exhaled as he shook his head, he didn’t even know who at, probably God.

Gavin placed his hand on the glass door, not facing the other man, “ _Can I go now?_ ”

Fowler sighed, “you can go now.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you enjoyed this please comment, because i really want to write a story for the people and if ya'll didn't like it then gimme some FEEDBACK as i am currently writing it, like right now actually.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gavin gets a forced relationship with a rocky start and probably middle knowing him. Nevertheless, he still has to do his job and no android will get in the way of that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me? Basing RK900's looks off Maximillan Kroger's portrayal of him? NO i would never *sweats* 
> 
> And me? Basing Gavin's looks off Christopher Trindade's portrayal of him? Haha why would you think that?? *makes a run for it*

It was outrageous. The one thing, the _one_ thing Gavin had ever asked of Fowler was to not pair him with and android, and what was that ‘I’m trying to help you' speech? Gavin exhaled sharply, bullshit is what it was. As he exited Fowler's office he paused for a moment, looking out at the bullpen before eventually heading towards his desk, spotting an android near said desk as he did so. All he saw was the back of its jacket. The blue band around its right arm was the first thing that caught his eyes followed by its high white collar. 

Gavin pushed into its space, “move out of the way, tin can,” he spat, grabbing its arm and pulling it away from his desk.

“My apologies, Detective.”

No. Wait, no, that wasn’t right at all. He knew that voice. Gavin turned around swiftly, “what the fuck?”

Staring back at him was a nearly perfect mirror of Connor. The only thing telling his brain that it wasn’t actually Connor was the thinner frame of his face and the grey eyes. Obviously, it wasn’t Connor, and that fact became clearer the longer you looked at it so much so the detective found himself backing up to look at the whole thing.

“No, seriously,” he looked at it sternly “ _what the fuck?”_

“I’m afraid I do not understand the source of your expletives, Detective.” It spoke. Okay…weird. It sounded like Connor but… not quite. Softer? No that wasn’t it. Its voice was deeper maybe? Calmer. Gavin shook his head; regardless he didn’t like it.

The Detective scoffed, “Just get lost, plastic.” Gavin took a seat at his desk, watching the android back up to give him space, but the longer he waited for it to fully flee the scene the more irritated he got. He tilted his head back to glare at the android standing perfectly idle behind him, “isn’t there some fucking rule about you having to listen to me when I tell you to do things?”

“If you are referring to Asimov’s Laws,” It began “then yes _and_ no, normally it would be correct but Asimov’s Laws states that I cannot follow orders that would lead to the harm of another human and as I was assigned to work with you by your captain, someone of higher rank might I add, and I strongly believe that by not assisting you with this case we would lead to more loss of lives, thus so I will remain by your side until the case is concluded.”

“Oh, great.” Gavin lied, running a hand through his hair. Subsequently processing that the reason it looked so much like Connor was that _this_ was the successor Fowler had mentioned, he also managed to realize that this was the android he was going to be forced to work with and since he was using his brain for once, he came to the following conclusions as well: he couldn’t harm the thing without being charged with assault, probably, he couldn’t make it listen to him and he couldn’t even be paired with a 'full' deviant or whatever. 

Paired with a supercomputer dead-set on doing its _job_ of all things, perfect. 

“Do you at least have a name?” Gavin let slip, internally cringing at himself for the formality. He turned to face his monitor as he took a seat.

“My designation is RK900 #313 248 317 - 87.” The RK900 replied.

The Detective laughed, “Yeah, hah, _definitely_ not calling you that.” 

The android didn’t respond, either not deeming Gavin worthy of his time or simply believing that this conversation was leading nowhere, instead he sat opposite of Gavin’s desk, the two digital monitors between them making his face barely visible to Gavin.

The Detective, suddenly feeling a buzz in his pocket, he grabbed his phone and looked at the message, “It’s Anderson,” He groaned “they found a new body, come on.”

In near unison the android matched the Detectives moments, standing up and trailing him past the other desks, through the reception and onto the sidewalk outside. Gavin did not like that at all. 

Gavin fished around in his pockets for a moment, earning a glance and a confused head-tilt from the android; he glared back at it until he finally got his keys and, without even waiting on the android, walked towards an old, beat-up, red car and got in it. 

The car’s paint was chipping and it hardly had the vibrant color it once had when he first got it, but nevertheless, it had survived this long so he saw no reason to trash it.

Once he was comfortable in his seat, he started the ignition, pausing only a moment to let the car warm up, and began to drive to the location detailed in Anderson’s text.

In all his days on this shitty planet, Gavin never imagined that one day he’d be sitting beside the one thing in this world he’d hated the most. Ironically, he spent, or in his case, _wasted,_ most of his time actively trying to avoid the things, which he knew was useless seeing how common they had become. Gavin didn’t know the math but it felt like 1 in 3 people were an android. Nevertheless, the Detective was looking forward to avoiding any needless interactions with this RK900, at least he had, was it not for said android’s sudden words.

He probably would’ve avoided addressing it the entire ride. 

The entire case actually.

“I cannot fathom why you would continue to use this _thing_ for transportation when the vehicles of the past decade alone are far more advanced.” RK900 said, putting strain onto the word ‘thing’ and looking around in what the Detective could only describe as disgust.

In the back of his mind Gavin really wanted to pretend he didn’t hear what it just said, but the other part of him really, _really_ wanted to dump its ass on the side of the road and tell it to walk the rest of the way, sadly that would’ve required addressing it in the first place. Neither of these options would benefit him in the end and he knew it.

“Because I want to” was all Gavin that could come up with and with the android staring at him harder and sterner as the moments pass he just wanted to end the conversation.

It turned to look at the road and Gavin sighed, glad that shut the thing up.

Wrong.

“That seems uncharacteristically dumb of you.” It said.

Was that a compliment? Like a really rude backhanded compliment?

“The vehicles now are clearly the smarter and the eco-friendlier choice,” RK900 continued, its LED yellow as it fiddled with something in its pocket, “because you ‘wanted’ too seems a very naïve answer.”

“Fine I keep it because I- I...“ He stuttered, adjusting his hold on the wheel until his knuckles turned white “my dad gave it to me, I guess? I don’t fucking know. I like how it looks?” He asked, trying any answer to quiet it.

The android nodded, its LED turning back to blue, “Yes, sentimentality can sometimes lead to foolish actions, this makes sense.”

Gavin exhaled and scowled at him “So you’ll shut up now?”

“Unlikely, we’re here now,” RK900 spoke. Rudely pushing into Gavin’s space, the android directed the Detective's vision with a hand as it pointed to digital yellow tape closing off an alleyway. Said alleyway was surrounded by a police escort and ambulance. As he pulled up Gavin noted Anderson and Connor as well, only noticing the android by the bright LED on his temple.

“Congrats, your first case with your big brother,” Gavin said mockingly, unbuckling his belt and cherishing the very confused expression on the RK900’s face as he left the android in the car.

He walked through the tape, nodding at Anderson and giving Connor a weak middle finger. Obviously, he still hated Connor’s presence whenever it was there, but the less he hung around the RK800 the more Gavin found himself forgetting, if only for a moment, that Connor was and android and thought of him more like an annoying co-worker. 

This was greatly helped by the fact Connor had stopped wearing his CyberLife jacket a few months after the revolution and instead, he now exclusively wore disgusting fucking ties with ugly-ass patterns and blank button-ups. He was _definitely_ learning from Anderson.

“Hey,” Hank greeted him, but the look on the Lieutenants face was disconcerting and if Gavin hadn’t almost thrown up at the station looking at photos, he might’ve made fun of him.

“How bad is it?” Gavin said, peering in the direction the older man had just come. His vision was obscured by officers trying to block the press from getting any pictures.

 _Any press is good press_ or however that saying goes.

“You know,” Anderson stated, leaning against his car “the longer I’m in this line of work, you think I’d eventually get bored or numb to all the things I’ve seen but…” he inhaled sharply and just shook his head.

“That bad, huh?”

RK900 placed a hand on Gavin’s shoulder, causing the Detective to immediately withdraw into himself. As he turned to look back at it, he watched as the android brought its hand slowly back to its side as it spoke, “perhaps, I should go in first, Detective?”

Gavin opened his mouth but didn’t get to answer as a very distressed woman approached the three of them. She was speaking so fast that Gavin didn’t understand a single word she said he was beginning to wonder how the hell he ever made it to Detective before he realized, no he wasn’t an idiot, she was just speaking very, _very_ fast Spanish.

On top of that, she was crying, so he only managed to catch a few words like ‘what is’ and ‘where’ thanks to what his high school's Spanish classes had ingrained in him. 

Abruptly, but not so much shocking as it was just jarring, RK900 began to speak with the woman. Gavin caught Connor in his peripherals listening intently.

Not satisfied with being out of the loop, Gavin leaned over and flicked Connor’s temple in an attempt to get the android's attention, “Hey, Mr. Roboto, care to translate?” he said taking a step away from the conversation as to not distract RK900 and the woman.

“She said she knows the victim,” Connor explained as the two talked, his LED flickering between red and yellow, “and…she wants to know…what happening…” He paused, LED solid red for a few moments, he blinked, “and she wants to know where the person who did this is.”

Gavin exhaled, running a hand over his face, “fuck.” He still didn’t even know what _‘this’_ was. He idled for a moment, tapping his foot before finally building up enough courage to turn away from the conversation and push past the crowd of police officers at the scene. Gavin would never admit this openly, but as he saw the body he 100% agreed with what Hank had said to him earlier. 

You never really numbed to things like this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope yall enjoy that cliffhanger 😘


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gavin and RK900 inspect their first murder on the case together and meet a colorful new figure. Nines has a realization and Gavin's walls break down just a little.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shout out to that one person who commented, you're a real one 
> 
> Also, there's murder and blood and a reference to suicide in this chapter so be warned

_No, you never really numbed to things like this._

Immediately after seeing the body, Gavin’s eyes flicked to and from it as he instinctively brought a hand up to cover his mouth. Laying in front of him was a small girl covered neck down in blood and, android or not, he felt warm vomit rise in his throat. _1 out of 2 isn’t bad_ , Gavin had thought as he remembered his near vomiting at the station. He didn't remember seeing any children in the case file's photos. 

In the corner of his eyes, he watched as the RK900 approached the body, completely un-phased, unlike him. The android was completely silent as it tilted its head, its LED yellow. From the little knowledge Gavin had on androids, he gathered it was probably scanning the body, collecting information, maybe trying to see who it was, but without the victim’s head, Gavin didn’t think it would be easy to identify them. 

The detective had only heard stories of Connor sampling blood to identify androids, but frankly, that was enough. The Detective didn’t need to watch the RK900 as it repeated the action, placing its index and middle finger into a puddle of blue blood on the ground, he simply pulled his eyes away before fingers met tongue. 

As he did so, his eyes located writing on the wall, but it was different than all the other locations: 

_**SIC SEMPER TYRANNIS.** _

“Sic semper evello mortem tyrannis,” RK900 spoke, walking up besides Gavin just as soon as startling him, when the detective turned to him confused, the android elaborated, “It’s a shortened version of the full quote, it means _‘Thus always I bring death to tyrants’_.”

Gavin wondered why the phrase suddenly changed from all the rest, but he guessed that considering the meanings between the two phrases were generally the same mentality that it didn’t really matter in the end.

Gavin really wished he could’ve stared at this wall forever, unfortunately, as the RK900 returned to the body, so did his eyes. As all the others were, the child—oh god, he really was going to throw up—the _android_ was missing its head and he noticed discoloration all along its body, some parts still looked human where others wore the shiny grey material he knew all androids had under their skin. 

Without warning, he felt, what you could’ve called, a kind of reassuring pressure at his side. He was frozen completely when it finally grabbed his arm and pulled him away from the corpse. Gavin’s brain felt scrambled and he had to constantly swallow in fear of vomiting. Why the hell would someone do that? It didn’t—he didn’t…

“Detective your norepinephrine levels are rising exponentially, I suggest you step away from the scene and calm down.”

Gavin rasped, catching his breath as he was drug away to the outside of the yellow tape by the RK900. 

“Calm down? _Calm down?!”_ the detective strained, getting his bearings again. Even though he wanted to shout, he was wary to not allow the press to hear what he said next so he lowered his voice into a harsh whisper, “did you even see the body? Nines, it’s a fucking kid. The fucker who did this killed a _kid.”_

The android blinked, looking shocked and Gavin watched as its LED turned yellow. However, it was only for a moment and then it replied, “These things happen, Detective, please calm down.”

Gavin scoffed, pushing his hands against the RK900’s chest roughly, trying to disturb its perfect, unmoving stance, “ _How can you possibly be okay with this?_ ” He bit back. 

“I am not.”

Gavin laughed at the monotone voice, “Could’ve fooled me, just get the fuck away from me.” He said finally, shoving his shoulder into the machine to get passed the android.

Or he would’ve if his wrist was not grabbed, “what the fuck?”

“Detective, I know you’re upset but I must ask again that you calm down, for your own well-being, I believe you’re at the brink of a panic attack.”

“Worry about your well-being first, because the next time you get in my way I’m sending you to a junkyard.” Gavin hissed, pulling his wrist away from the android’s grip and heading back through the yellow tape.

He heard murmurs as he walked past the press a few no doubt about his argument with the android. Who fucking cared, Gavin’s job was done and he was going home. Not like they even needed him, they might’ve as well as replaced him and put RK900 at his desk until the damn thing ran out of battery. 

Gavin waved away at Hank and he began to feel that oh so familiar itch as he approached his car. Digging through his pockets he found a packet of cigarettes that he never left home without. Between it and his phone, the two items were the best friends he’d ever had. Gavin leaned again his car and popped a cigarette into his mouth, a leg bouncing jittery as he pulled out one of his many lighters.

“That’s not healthy.” An approaching voice interrupted.

“Jesus, you ain’t got nothin’ better to do?” Gavin scolded, fumbling the cig in his mouth as he lit it. He looked up, shocked to see it wasn’t who he expected. Instead of Connor’s weird Walmart body-double, there stood a tall woman with short black hair in front of him. Being a detective, he was weary and he found himself inspecting her. She was wearing normal enough clothes, a crop top, jacket, black lip-stick, and jeans. Nothing really stood out to him.

“I suppose not,” She answered his already forgotten question, “though I was going to ask if I could bum a cigarette off you...if you weren’t short of course.” 

Gavin found himself waiting for her to do something, it’s not often people approach the police to just ask for a cigarette, at a crime scene of all places. “Uh, yeah, sure” He finally said, pulling the packet back out of his pocket cautiously. He peered past her and she laughed.

“I’m not going to jump you, honest, just want a cig, I’ll leave if you’re that uncomfortable.” 

Gavin shook his head, watching as she tapped her foot, she had the similar itch he had. He handed a cigarette to her, blowing his out in the opposite direction, “No, no, it’s not that,” he said, turning back and lighting hers as she leaned again his car as well, “I’m just waiting on my partner, its usually a stickler for timing so I thought it’d be here by now.”

“Partner?” The woman asked, taking a breath from the cigarette, exhaling it in a cloud of smoke above them before turning to face him, “I’m gonna make one of two guesses, and from the ambulances and badge I’m saying…you’re an officer?”

Gavin grinned, it wasn’t often he met new people who he could stand for longer than a minute and so he found himself unclipping his badge to show it better to her. Gavin watched as she leaned in to read, pausing before clearing her throat and leaning back.

“Oh, my bad, _Detective._ ” She corrected, “It? Your partner?”

“Oh, uh, android.” Gavin specified, hovering his hand over his gun in a nervous tic, placing his cigarette in his other. Her eyes squinted, probably processing it as she nodded shortly after.

“It’s a wonder they even need human officers anymore when there are so many androids being mass-produced. Well, I guess…” The woman thought for a moment, placing her elbow in her hand, “ex-produced? They’re not being made anymore.” Gavin nodded in agreement at that, taking a few puffs from his cigarette as she continued, pointing to the taped off alley-way “Probably can’t ask what this is, can I?”

He sighed, “Yeah, no, sorry.”

“It's fine,” she blew out, finally dropping the cig and crushing it under the toe of what he now noticed were heels, “I live around here is all, just wanted to know what to look out for, but I trust you’ll keep me safe.” The woman said, patting him on his jacket’s chest.

“Oh, hello, I hope I'm not intruding.”

Gavin turned facing the android that felt like it magically appeared, “Speak of the devil, what is it, tin can?”

The black-haired woman turned to face RK900, the thing had a confused but somehow still dopey smile on its face. She smiled, looking back at Gavin for a brief moment, “You didn’t tell me your partner was so cute, Detective.”

Gavin rolled his eyes.

The RK900 blinked, LED turning yellow for a moment before it gave a curt nod at her, “Thank you, miss. However, most androids are designed to be pleasant to the eye, to better integrate.”

“Oh, my mistake,” she teased “and please, call me Annie.” The woman—Annie, added, “Sadly, as much fun as the two of you are, I’d hate to take up your whole day. Thanks for the cigarette, Detective.” 

As she pushed herself from Gavin’s car and began to walk away the detective found his mouth speaking before his brain could think, “Gavin. My name’s Gavin.” He supplied. Damn, was he this desperate?

Annie nodded, “Gavin.” She said finally, bowing dramatically before turning around and walking back down the sidewalk.

Gavin found his eyes lingering before feeling another pair boring into the back of his head, he slowly turned and was faced with the natural, smug face he knew. Obviously, the RK900 was putting on a pretty face for Annie. He watched the android raise an eyebrow at him assumingly.

“What?”

The android said nothing.

“ _What?_ ” Gavin emphasized, looking around his immediate surroundings with his hands up.

“ _She_ liked you.” The RK900 said, crossing to the other side of the Detective’s car.

Gavin suddenly chuckled at the thought of getting under the android's synthetic skin, leaning onto the roof he stared at the android, “What? Jealous?”

He didn’t know androids could even make a face as judgmental as this one did, it looked like it wanted to say _‘Seriously?’_ but was forbidden by its programming, it just shook its head and Gavin didn’t catch the roll of its eyes as he'd gotten in the driver’s seat.

It exhaled as it sat next to him, no doubt one of the RK900’s programs to make it seem normal, “I’m surprised you didn’t notice.”

Before Gavin could even say anything he felt the android lean into his space and if it wasn’t jarring he might’ve realized it was reaching for something and not trying to tear his throat out. He felt it place a hand on his jacket chest before pulling out a slip of paper from the pocket placed there. It handed it over it him, resuming its perfectly creepy 90-degree angle of sitting in the car.

“313 285…” Gavin mumbled off, “she gave me her phone number?”

“It appears so.” The android said, uninterested. 

As time passed, no more words were exchanged and so, taking that as his cue, Gavin started up the car and the two settled into a comfortable silence. Every once and a while Gavin remembering the paper and getting small bursts of confidence, grinning to himself, yes, this was okay. 

Except it _wasn’t_ okay, it could’ve been but it wasn’t because the whole ride back to the station was spent with the android beside Gavin deciding to fidget relentlessly. He thought at first maybe it was a reaction that deviants had, deep down he knew that their software had errors that made them think they felt emotions. He saw that the first crime he and Connor shared, instabilities can apparently _‘trigger an unpleasant feeling, like fear in humans’_ , he’d remembered hearing Connor say.

“What the fuck’s wrong with you,” Gavin suddenly spoke up, turning his head to face the RK900. Like Hell he’d be in the same car if this thing decided to grab his gun and blow both their brains out.

“Pardon?” the android asked, looking at him for the first time the whole ride back.

Gavin looked back to the road pointing haphazardly towards the android’s temple, “that thing’s yellow, next step is red and you better not explode.”

The RK900 lifted up its hand to feel its temple, maybe trying to cover it, “Is my designation ‘Nines’?” it asked out of the blue, focusing solely on the Detective.

Gavin had the good sense to not yell at the thing for once, “Wait, your- what? Designation?” He sputtered.

“While at the crime scene you called me Nines”

The Detective watched the road lights, pausing on red and driving on green, “I did? When?”

The android tilted its head, watching out the corner of its eye as the station came into sight, “During your not-panic-attack, Detective,” It reminded, “Is that my designation?”

Gavin pulled into a parking lot carefully, “Wouldn’t you want a normal—actually, never mind,” He sighed, removing his key from the car and stretching, “it’s your name, I’m not gonna fuckin’ use it. Go by Richard for all I care.”

“I believe you’re only saying that so you have an excuse to call me Dick, Detective.”

Gavin laughed, “Maybe.”

He turned to the RK90, its LED was still yellow.

“You know what,” Gavin said, catching the android’s attention, “If calling you Nines causes you to not go and blow up the place I work at,” he paused, leaning over to poke at the android’s LED, “then yeah, I’ll call you Nines.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nines has the unfortunate encounter with a de-caffeinated Gavin but regardless, the two have their first, almost normal conversation. The case begins to gain traction as the two get a lead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter really fought me. I'm not used to writing actual chaptered fics, I think the most chapters I've written for a story was 2?? This is basically a filler episode, we might have 1 more like this, but things are bout to Ramp Up.

In classic Gavin Reed fashion, the detective made his way to work late. That being said, in an amazing feat of self-awareness, Gavin woke up that morning staring at his traitorous phone and thought that _maybe_ he should try not turning into Arrives-At-Work-After-Noon Anderson. After all, he knew that the string he dangled on with Fowler was much thinner than the Lieutenant’s. 

However, having rushed out of his apartment, he didn’t have time to have his morning coffees—plural—and so as he entered the station he was itching to reach the breakroom. Gavin must’ve subconsciously been trying to spare anyone in his way from receiving the entirety of his “wrath” as he swiftly walked passed co-worker and stranger alike without a word. 

Turning on his heel to enter the breakroom he found the RK—Nines—standing nearly nose to nose with him at the entryway, his eyes looked down and located the android was holding what he assumed was a cup of coffee in his hands.

“You’re late. Detective.” Nines spoke without hesitation, “1 hour, 35 minutes and 26 seconds to be exact.” 

Better than he thought.

“Were you waiting here for me?” Gavin asked, not surprised with the irritation in his voice, trying his best to ignore the thinly veiled judgment he was receiving from the android’s eyes. Nevertheless, he slowly took the cup from the android as it was offered to him. He sipped on it, spitting it out just as soon as he did, coffee dripping down his chin, “ugh, why is it cold?”

The android tipped its head and Gavin didn’t catch the way it smirked. Nines swiftly grabbed a napkin off the small table in the center of the room, “you were later than I expected,” it spoke, offering the napkin to the Detective, “had you been on time it would’ve been the optimal temperature.”

“Fuck off,” Gavin huffed out snatching the napkin from the other and wiping the coffee off chin, “I slept through my alarm,” he explained before shoving the cup back into Nine’s hands. Gavin scratched his stubble incessantly, turning away from his partner and starting to make a new— _hot—_ cup of coffee for himself. 

Gavin shook his head and as he clicked a cup into the hold of the appliance in front of him, “prototype android can’t even make a decent coffee,” he mumbled, staring into the endless black pool appearing before him. He didn’t even care If Nines heard him because he knew that he, any android really, could hear even his quietest whispers, still, he really wanted Nines to say something, give him a reason. 

CyberLife’s Most advanced android and yet it just rolled over when he gave it shit? You’d think it’d do something; it’s the least he could do as a deviant.

It irritated the hell out of him when Connor just batted his puppy eyes when they first met. “I only take orders from Lieutenant Anderson” was the thinnest veiled “fuck you” he’d ever heard in his life, but he just wished that Connor would at least have the decency to say that now. 

Twoweeks after the revolution he realized that that was just how Connor was wired, CyberLife designed a passive-aggressive ass-kisser and he’d just have to deal with it. The least Nines could do was threaten bodily harm, spice it up CyberLife!

Ironically, as if reading his mind, Nines did the very opposite. He merely sighed and left the Detective’s peripherals, heading towards their desks without a word.

The appliance in front of Gavin beeped and he un-clicked his cup. He stared in dismay as he saw the shortage of sugars and—once looking into the mini-fridge to shake a container—creamer and wondered if black coffee was really that bad. He sipped the drink and immediately spit, “fuck, ugh, ok yeah, _no thanks_.”

Gavin took six sugars and sprinkled them in, letting Jesus take the wheel as he poured however little creamer there was from the fridge into his cup and began to stir it with a small black straw. Gavin was in no way a religious man but for the first time, as he prayed for good coffee, he really hoped there was someone up in the clouds watching over him…and that they didn’t hate him too much. 

After hyping himself up for a good 20 seconds, he finally drank the coffee and, understandably, knew that God had abandoned him but decided to keep the wretch of a drink anyway as self-punishment for his first, and likely only, prayer being about coffee.

Finally slipping out of the breakroom, the bitchiest emotion still plastered to his face, Gavin managed to sit down in his chair and stare as rudely as he could at the android in front of him, Nines’ face obscured slightly by the computer screen.

“May I help you, Detective?”

Gavin crossed his arms and turned his attention towards the abomination he refused to call coffee, “we’re out of creamer.”

Nines tsked, the corners of his lips threatening to turn into a smile, “ah, so that’s why you look like that.”

“You know what? I’m not gonna reply to that.”

Nines stood up suddenly, adjusting his cuffs and catching Gavin's attention. Turning off his monitor, Nines spoke up, “I know most humans need some time in the morning to ready themselves for activities,” he pauses, walking over to stand next to the corner of Gavin’s desk and the man himself “are you able to function at 100% yet?”

“Function?” Gavin scoffs, “Jesus, I never thought I’d say this, but download how to talk like a person, for your own good,” he rolls his eyes, “But yeah, I’m able to ‘function’, why?”

“I didn’t think it was important at the time,” Nines begins, watching Gavin sip his coffee—though as he scanned it, he noted it was more sugar than caffeine—but say nothing, “I believe the killer is changing their pattern.”

“That doesn’t usually happen with serial killers,” Gavin says, finally going up for air from the coffee.

Nines shook his head, “No, but I think this killer might be beginning to kill for a reason” 

“Explain,” Gavin asks, shockingly putting his entire attention onto an android for what might’ve been the first time in years.

The RK900 leans over, brushing into Gavin’s space as he pulls up the case files to the Detective’s monitor.

“Last night as I was filing evidence,” It explained, “I had realized that out of the total eleven victims, four out of the seven android victims were missing parts that _for some reason_ at the beginning of this case seemed un-noteworthy to mention.”

Gavin nearly laughed at the clear distaste Nines had for whoever was on this case before him. At least he knew Nines could feel distaste.

“For example, the android from last evening, it was missing bio-components #432 and #658, two fingers.”

“O—kay…?” The detective encouraged, trying his best to not remember the child’s body, it wasn’t working. Still, he was confused, “Big deal, it probably lost them in the struggle.”

“Possibly, yes, but compared to the others this seems like a murder of vanity,” Nines conceded, “but the others are _far_ more intriguing.”

“Others? And what do you mean _‘vanity’_?” Gavin asked, “you think an _android_ is killing these people?”

Nines suddenly pulls up several prior android murders into view on the monitor, “Victim #4, missing bio-component #231—the android equivalent of a kidney,” Gavin flinches and Nines moves to point at a woman, “Victim #6, missing its Thirium pump! Victim #7 was drained entirely of Thirium 310.”

Had the topic not been so disturbing, it would’ve been interesting to see and android get so… _excited_ over something. If you could call this 'excitement' and not 'morbid fascination.' 

“These are all things that help androids work at a prime condition.”

“Okay, so what you’re saying here is that…” Gavin paused to take it all it, closing his eyes and the holographic folder on his screen, not missing Nines’ confusion as he did so, “What your saying is that the android is killing to stay alive?”

Nines nodded, finally pulling out of Gavin’s space and merely sitting beside him on the desk's top, “or in working order, yes.”

Gavin sat back in his chair, pushing against his own temples and thinking on that for a moment. It didn’t seem so far fetched as it just seemed…well, _sad_. He could have imagined that humans would do the very same if they could, steal replacement organs from one another, regardless of the pain it caused. Lord knows how bad people can be. Now that he came to think of it, he had seen news headlines about people stealing organs from hospitals before. 

“But that doesn’t explain the humans,” the detective said coldly as he opened his eyes “or the un-…uh…un-touched androids.”

“The humans could very well be the android just trying to get what little justice it feels it deserves.” The RK900 paused, “ _‘Thus always I bring death to tyrants’_ remember?”

Gavin sat up in his desk’s chair, “ _Sic semper evello mortem tyrannis_ , yeah, I remember.” He watched Nines raise an eyebrow at his recollection of the quote. Gavin cleared his throat, “and the un-touched androids?”

Nines gave a dead-pan look at him, “are you going to make me do all the work, _Detective_?”

“Well, _you’re_ the one with all the _supposed_ facts, _tin can_ ,” Gavin said back with the same amount of venom as the other.

Nines shook his head and stood up, “I’m sorry to say this,” He paused “but for as much as I looked, I cannot fathom a reason behind all the other murders.”

Gavin kicked his feet onto his desk, “Shame. Guess deviants have finally outsmarted you.” He smirked.

“ _And you_.” Nines reminded sourly.

The two sat in amicable silence. The detective chose to look at his desk instead of the android, scattered all over were post-it notes with meaningless things written on them. He had an anti-android sticker right smack on his monitor and he wondered if it made the blood in the android next to him boil. He had a fake plant because god forbid he had to take care of anything living. Luckily his cats at home were self-sustaining enough that he could go MIA at any moment and they’d be okay, for a week at least.

In the corner of his eye, he saw the android’s LED flashing yellow and guessed he was probably running like a diagnostic check or going over evidence or something like that, all while Gavin sat there with a thumb up his ass. The itch in his body and his antsy hands reminded him of all his flaws and he scratched at his coat pocket.

“I need a smoke.”

Was all the detective said, abruptly standing up as he was followed by the android’s eyes, its LED flickering between yellow and blue before settling on blue. Gavin turned on his heel, kicking his chair haphazardly back into the nook of the desk and heading towards the front of the station with a cigarette pack already in one hand while the other was shoved in his coat pocket.

Ever since he’d gotten an android partner, you know, _yesterday_ , he’d really been trying to not get those morbid ‘what if I killed this android’ thoughts. They had jumped from Connor onto his body-double and for the most part, it’d been working. Gavin knew that trying to throw it into a paper shredder or under his car would only cause harm to the shredder, but really what would even happen? If no-one knew who did it…would Nines just be uploaded into another body good as new? Gavin knew that was possible too as he’d overheard Connor say it to Anderson once. Something about how it was lucky that Ortiz’ android missed him by an inch with that bullet or his body would’ve been sent back to CyberLife and sent back anew, albeit missing a few memories.

Gavin’s hands shakily lit the smoke, taking a sharp inhale of the nicotine. It was the only thing he really had since he gave up drinking because of course he had to lose a bet to Tina fucking Chen and he wasn’t some bitch who would go back on his word. So yeah, congrats Gavin on a month sober or something like that. He wasn’t 100% sure and the days were seeming to just blend at this point.

Soft clicking of fine dress shoes alerted him to the presence of another person, “Did you know that cigarette smoking is responsible for more than 480,000 deaths per year in the United States, including more than 41,000 deaths resulting from secondhand smoke exposure? This is about one in five deaths annually, or 1,300 deaths every day.”

Gavin stared blankly at the android by his side, “Wow,” he exhaled, pausing only to catch his breath before taking another from the cigarette, “so…you knew that already? or did you look it up just for me?”

“I’m sure you know you will die from smoking, Detective.”

Gavin laughed hoarsely, “Uh, yeah, is sure hope it does.”

The android’s LED blinked red.

“Oh, please don’t get all worried on me,” Gavin said, pushing maybe a little too roughly against Nines’ temple, though he wouldn’t know seeing as the android stayed perfectly unmoving, as usual, “you think I don’t know that?” 

"I'm sure your family would find it regrettable if you died." 

"Don't." Gavin spat, surprising even himself at the suddenness of it.

"Don't what?"

"Don't talk about shit you don't know anything about." He blew out smoke, glaring in the Androids direction. Guess it was only a matter of time before he snapped at the thing, they'd been playing nice far longer than he expected. "I'm not one of your fucking criminals in interrogation to be psychoanalyzed, so _don't._ "

"I..." He saw the Android fold its hands behind its back, shifting what Gavin could only describe as uncomfortably, "I only meant...I sorry, you're correct." 

_Huh._

They stood there in silence, Gavin shifting left and right every so often, only looking antsy in comparison to the androids stiff stature. The silence reminded him of a wake, everyone uneasy and scared to speak...except him, “why do you still wear that?”

Nines raised an eyebrow, “Pardon?”

Gavin poked his temple, “I’ve seen androids without LEDs, deviants, you know, like you” he reminded, maybe a little too bitterly “why you still got one? There’s like…no benefit really,” Gavin let out an uneasy laugh, taking a drag from his cigarette, “a few cons that come to mind though.”

Nines merely turned away from the detective, opting to instead stare out at the moving traffic of the Detroit streets, “Oh, believe me, I’m aware.” The android wiped down his impeccably clean, white jacket, and for the first time Gavin noticed its blue armband was missing, “Connor shared plenty of his memories of you as a warning and a lesson for the possible treatment I should be wary of.”

Wow, that... _actually_ stung.

Gavin didn’t respond and if he was being honest, he didn’t feel like he had anything more to say that the android couldn’t counter. Saying ‘sorry’ felt useless and made him feel a little too exposed, Nines probably wouldn’t except it either. He let out a laugh through his nose knowing that there was a high chance that Connor shared the ‘evidence room fiasco’ memory with his brother. The two probably got a good laugh out of seeing him unconscious on the floor. He would’ve too.

“I’m not ashamed to be an android,” RK900 said suddenly, answering Gavin’s prior question.

Gavin raised an eyebrow, “You think Connor is ashamed?” He asked, remembering the month after the revolution when he saw Connor without his LED for the first time.

“No,” the android beside him answered after a moment, “though, I do believe it is easier for androids to navigate societal norms without being constrained by a stranger’s predetermined bigotry, and I would much rather have someone treat me for who I am then for what they thought I was.”

Gavin flicked his cigarette onto the floor, grinding it beneath his heel. That last part sounded bitter and angry and was most likely aimed at him. So what? 

He slid down the siding of the station until he was sitting on the concrete side-walk with his back against the wall and his knees at his chest, he caught the confused glance from his partner but the android remained standing.

They said nothing and the silence was both welcomed and hated. Maybe if he was alone he’d appreciate it more but he never liked being in a quiet room with someone, always felt like they were waiting for him to fuck up, judging him. It didn’t help that Gavin didn’t understand why this android followed him around like a dog, he bet he could tell Nines to fuck off but he highly doubted that would do anything. 

In the two days that he’d known the android, he could tell there was something just under its surface waiting to break out. Sure, Nines was deviant but he never did anything. Gavin knew Nines was strong enough to break bones too, he knew he was stronger than Connor, _and Connor hit like a sonofabitch_. It was probably just waiting for a reason to turn on him, snap his neck, or maybe that was just his paranoia and he should’ve kept smoking that cigarette.

Something pushed him to speak, “Can you...—uh, actually, yeah, no, fuck—just ignore me, yeah, _never mind_.”

 _Nice._ What was that? A 2nd-grade speaking level?

He swore he heard a laugh escape the other, “perhaps you should take a breath, Detective.” Nines smirked, poking fun at the Detective. Prick.

“Oh har, har. Fuck you.” Gavin said.

The two stared out onto the street, Gavin was watching as people in their safe little bubbles went on with their lives and wondered how he’d ever ended up stuck with an android partner investigating a serial killer’s murders after an android revolution. He wondered what Nines was thinking of as it stared out into the street and he felt that familiar feeling of his uninhibited brain beginning to wander, even though he wasn’t on break he knew he’d have to go back inside to work soon. 

“Did you ever call Annie?”

Gavin looked up at his partner, “Who?”

Nines stared at him with a twinge of judgment in his eyes, “The woman with the black bob that we met the other evening.”

“Oh, you mean the one who flirted with you? No, why?” Gavin questioned, “You suddenly worried about my social life, Iron Giant?”

The android rolled its eyes, “She said that she lived around the area of the murder did she not?” Nines said, ignoring his question, “perhaps she saw something and should come in for a statement.”

Gavin tapped his fingers on the concrete in thought, feeling his heart sink for whatever reason, maybe he wanted a more interesting conversation then this ‘let’s get a statement’ conversation, push the boundaries of AI, maybe say a paradox and get Nines’ brain to crash. 

“Yeah, I guess.”

“You ‘guess’? You seemed ecstatic when you received her phone number and yet now you’re not interested in her at all?”

“Okay, I’m confused,” Gavin admitted, his voice rising in irritation, “are you trying to play plastic cupid or do you want a witness statement?”

“As your partner, can I not be capable of both? We could, as they say, _kill two birds with one stone_ if you contacted her.”

Gavin rolled his eyes, pushing his legs against the ground as he stood back up, “whatever,” he said, brushing his pants down. 

He watched the android turn his head back to the streets and heard it mumble something, probably something like ‘dumb human’.

Roughly, Gavin pulled a slip of paper from his jacket's pocket and slapped it against the android’s chest. Nines took it slowly. The slip was there all night because Gavin had forgotten to take it out, but honestly, instead of forgetting where he put them, he’d just leave things where they were originally and things seemed to work out great.

The detective squinted angrily, “here’s her number, by the way, you should probably put it into your brain or whatever it is you do. In the meantime, let’s get back to fuckin’ work.” He said, flipping off the android as he was already half-way into the reception office, but I wasn’t long before he felt the android on his heels.

“You get any new leads you forget to tell me about?” Gavin asked as he approached his desk.

“We’re getting a witness statement from Camila Martín today,” the android paused as he followed perfectly behind the detective, Gavin raised an eyebrow, “the mother from the crime scene last evening,” Nines reminded.

“We?” Gavin asked slipping his jacket off and putting it over his chair.

“We’re partners I thought it would be best to include you, she’s coming in at 11:30 this evening, in half an hour.” Nines said, and Gavin watched as it tried to do what he only assumed was smile, “I scheduled it this morning at 7 AM.”

“Exactly?”

“I don’t see how that’s—“

“Oh, no, it’s not important at all,” the detective interrupted, waving his hand as he kicked his feet up onto his desk, “it’s just freaky that people get up that early.”

“Some of us have schedules, Detective.” It sassed.

“Yeah, but most of us have to sleep,” Gavin replied.

* * *

Gavin had seen Connor interrogate enough people in the past to know that he’d rather not be on the receiving end of it, thankfully this was just a witness statement and he wasn’t going to watch Nines break someone’s fingers by the end of the day. _Hopefully._

“Hello, Miss Martín,” Nines spoke, pulling Gavin from his thoughts. The detective was currently reclined in a room, quiet and comfortably watching Nines through the one-sided glass. Both Gavin and Nines agreed (shockingly) that Nines should be the one to talk to Miss Martín, Gavin said it was because he couldn’t speak Spanish and by the way the android squinted back at him he knew Nines only let him believe that was the reason. The reason was definitely not Nines having a computer telling him optimal stress levels to get people to talk, or why they were reacting a certain way to something he said, how to turn to a conversation in his favor and not turn over a table instead.

He still couldn’t believe Tina told tattled to Nines about that story.

“Hello,” Miss Martín replied, her accent thick, her voice shaking. Normally Gavin would take note of that, but it wasn’t really that suspicious, not considering what the woman had gone through in the past 24 hours.

“Before we start I have to tell you that everything you say here will be recorded for evidence,” The android smiled comfortingly, “do you consent to this?”

The woman nodded but replied in a small “yes.”

“I’d like to ask you when the last time you saw your daughter was.”

“Rosa. Her name…” Miss Martín stopped. Visibly shaking now. Gavin watched Nines reach a hand across the metal table and place it reassuringly onto her wrist. “It was around…around 3 PM on Tuesday, maybe 3:30.” She said. 

Nines nodded.

“Tuesday?” He asked “A day before we found her. What was she doing for all of Wednesday?”

“I had dropped her off at my brother’s apartment,” The woman answered. Nines raised an eyebrow and the woman continued, “Rosa had wanted to see her cousin, she missed her and they had a playdate…” she explained, her head nearly laying on the table, her voice practically whispering near the end.

At that, his android partner turned his head, and, if Gavin didn’t know any better, he’d say that Nines made direct eye-contact with him through the glass, however, for obvious reasons, that was _impossible_. He watched the android nod at him regardless. Or…at the glass? The detective shivered and tried not to think about it.

“Phckin’ androids” he hissed into his shoulder, slumping down further into the chair.

Nines’ gaze returned to the woman, “What’s your brother’s name?”

Miss Martín froze and then suddenly snapped back up to look at him, “You don’t think he…he wouldn’t, he _couldn’t_. I’m certain.” She said.

Nines shook his head, “Of course not ma’am,” an obvious lie, “we just need to see if he has any more information on what happened that day.”

Gavin watched the woman nod to herself, quietly mumbling something he couldn’t pick up before speaking, “Mateo. His name is Mateo.” 

“Thank you,” Nines smiled, “That is all for now, you’re free to go.”

She didn’t respond, merely stood up and headed towards the door, wiping her face with her sleeves. 

Gavin felt his heart sink at the sight of it. No mother should have to lose a kid, not at all, and especially not like that. He’d lost family, sure, everyone does eventually, that’s just life, but losing your kid? Gavin could only imagine the pain. He never thought he could understand it, not until he heard it compared to ‘losing a piece’ of yourself. Now that? That was something he could understand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> me at three am, high on bath-salts writing this: ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?


End file.
